BU BU JING XIN
EPISODE 1
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RUOXI: TIME-TRAVELLING TO THE QING
ERA
During a horrible car
accident in the twenty-first century, a 25-year old girl, Zhang Xiao, is
flung against a bill board which shows a picture of the Palace Museum, which
is part of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is the year 2011.
Zhang Xiao has just had an
altercation with her boyfriend, Hwangdi over his fling with another girl.
During the war of words, an explosion occurs and a car rams into her and the
next thing she knows, she is flung across the time divide into the Qing
Dynasty. It seems the clock has gone backwards.
Zhang Xiao has been
teleported back in time to the Qing era.
Not aware of the strange
phenomena, she has been slipping in and out of consciousness. In her half
dazed state, she thinks that she is in the hospital but the place seems quite
strange. She has a faint idea of a court physician examining her. She is
brained-fried and frazzled in her dream-like state.
When she fully awakes, she
finds herself with a bandaged head in a strange setting. She is still unaware
that she is in one of the mansions in the Forbidden City, the world’s largest
palace complex. And a strange pair of Manchu shoes, ‘horse-hoofed’ shoes,
awaits her by her bedside.
She steps out of her bed
and surveys the scene. She studies the reflection of herself and her bandaged head
incredulously in the mirror.
Seeing that she is awake, the maid calls for the attention of the others. Zhang Xiao is addressed as ‘Second Miss’. It is wont that in the Chinese noble household in that era that the ladies are called ‘Miss’. It is difficult to literally translate that term of address.
Zhang Xiao interrogates the maid, Qiaohui,
about her whereabouts and she is told that she is in the Eighth Prince or
Eight Beile, Prince Yinsi’s residence, in the Forbidden City and they are living in the Qing
Dynasty. The peerage title ‘Beile' means 'Prince of Third Rank' and is bestowed
on those within the imperial family.
Zhang Xiao is confused and thinks
that a joke is being played on her and that she is in some sort of modern variety
show. She understands the term ‘Beile’ because it is the best known Manchu,
non-Chinese title which is commonly used to refer to all Manchu princes, so
she instinctively knows that the maid is referring to the Manchu dynasty.
Upon
further probing, she learns that the
reigning emperor is the Kangsi emperor.
(The Qing Dynasty was ruled not by the Han Chinese but by the Manchus, a barbarian grassland race from Northern China who had invaded and conquered China in 1644. The Kangxi emperor, the
fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1661-1772) was the ruler of the Chinese
empire. He was the head of Aisin-Gioro lineage from Manchuria and the
imperial clan of the Qing dynasty. The Manchurians were considered barbarians
by the Han Chinese, whose power ended with the destruction of the Ming
Dynasty. As we understand it, the Qing Dynasty would be the last imperial dynasty
of China before the 1911 Revolution which would launch the Republic of China.)
Zhang Xiao was shocked to learn that she has
been held captive in the body of Ma’ertai Rouxi, the 14-year old daughter of
a Manchu general from Northwest China, who is a close and loyal
subject of the emperor.
The shock and trauma is
reeling her. She seems to have come unglued with the situation, and she was shaking the maid to answer some of her questions.
Is she coming apart at the seams?
She cannot envision herself in such a horrible situation. There
is a great divide between her 21st century world and the realm of
the eighteenth century, about a three-hundred year difference.
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MA'ERTAI RUOLAN
Her older sister, Ma'ertai Ruolan, the ce’fujin or the 2nd
consort of the Eighth Prince, appears in the midst of their tensed conversation, which
is fraught with anxiety.
Zhang Xiao has observed around her the embellished splendour of the Qing
Dynasty – the furniture, the curtains, the exquisite designs and the
beautiful appliques on her sister’s elegant attire, the Manchu qipao.
The maid anxiously reports that perhaps the 2nd
Miss has lost her memory. Zhang Xiao later learns that Qiaohui is the
Ma'ertai family's faithful maid who has accompanied Ruolan when she wedded the 8th Prince.
As Ma'ertai Ruolan’s face is calm and serene, and her voice,
soothing and loving, Zhang Xiao is reassured and follows her instructions to the letter.
The physician says Ma’ertai Rouxi is in shock and is confused,
but advises that with rest and medicine, she should be able to recover soon.
Everyone is fussing over her. Her sister hovers over her like
a helicopter and reveals that she has fallen from the stairs and has been
rendered unconscious for some time.
She has flashbacks of herself brusquely quarrelling with her
boyfriend over his affair with another girl.
And she also remembers being caught in a car collision and being thrown
against a billboard featuring the Palace Museum of the Forbidden City.
 Zhang Xiao realises in horror that she has time-travelled.
It was strange though that she also has a flashback
of herself as Ma’ertai Rouxi rolling down the stairs. At the top of the
stairs is the faint figure of a mysterious person. That day is considered a 'diem horribilis', a terrible day
when her world has crashed around her.
Zhang Xiao, is a modern girl and is completely of a different cultural
makeup from the people around her. Her westernised thinking has been inculcated since her school days.
It is not easy for her to discard her deeply embedded modern education which
spans about nearly a quarter of a century. It would be difficult for her to retain
her identity. She is definitely not going to have her brain flushed by the
Qing traditional culture but how is she going to handle the time-switch?
The passing days have been difficult for Zhang Xiao. She is not used to the restriction of her
freedom of movement. She is bored and is furious to be trapped in the body of
Ma’ertai Rouxi, and in her frustration, she strides aimlessly around the mansion
grounds and prances around in her distinctive Manchu platform-soled or horse-hoofed shoes, sometimes rushing in circles, with the maid, Qiaohui,
breathlessly following and trying to keep pace with her.
She looks tall in her shoes. It is surprising that she does
not totter on those shoes. Viewers may be surprised that although it seems
inconvenient to walk in her shoes, Ma’ertai Rouxi turns out to be an expert
in balancing herself.
However, she does appear to be unladylike which is contrary to the purpose of wearing such shoes, the aim of which is to appear to be more coquettish. 
Manchu platform-soled / horse-hoofed shoes
When Zhang Xiao stops to exercise her limbs, Qiaohui is
curious about her body movements. She explains it is her exercise routine.
Zhang Xiao is dismissive of her sister’s traditional ways and
behaviour. She thinks if one is positive, Ma'ertai Ruolan may be considered to be gentle and kind but from a modern woman’s point of perspective, she is weak and reclusive, spending her whole day reading Buddhist scriptures.
Ruolan does not seem to be loved by the 8th Prince
as he has not dropped in for a visit during the 10 days she is there.
It would be folly to resist her fate. Therefore, Zhang Xiao,
after some consideration, decides that she has to accept the situation and to
rely on her sister for comfort.
How can she maintain her identity without appearing to be mad?
What if she told them the truth – they might think she is spouting some
nonsense. How can she tell them that she has time-travelled back from the 21st century to the 18th century? She does not want others to think that she has some impairment in
her thinking. Is her interpretation of reality severely abnormal? Is she in her world of delusions? What
more, she is carrying out conversations with voices in her head.
However, it gives her a measure of comfort that she has been well-grounded in Chinese history in school and understands Qing history quite thoroughly
but it does not stop her from worrying about the future.
She knows that her sister’s position is not secure because her husband, the Eighth Prince would one day fall out of favour with the Kangxi emperor. Power talks. If he is not able to stay ahead of the game, there would be winds of change blowing in their direction.
While on her walk with Qiaohui, Zhang Xiao, being a smart female,
manages to get the maid to tell her about her and her sister’s favourite
delicacies. Her sister’s favourite dessert is chrysanthemum pudding and her
favourite is chestnut pudding.
   
Water
chestnut
Back at the manor, she declares to her sister that she is not
delicate or fragile. Ruolan is actually pleased with her recent behaviour.
She was like a wild horse in the past, but now, she looks more like a lady and
understands rules better.
When offered bird’s nest pudding, she gulps it down so greedily and quickly
that she chokes and splutters. Ruolan gently admonishes her for her lack of propriety.
Later, Zhang Xiao pretends that she has amnesia due to the fall and asks her sister
questions about herself. She is informed that she has been with her sister
for nearly three months. She has been sent by their father to the Forbidden City because of two
reasons. First, she has been an unruly girl who only listens to her older sister,
Ruolan. Their mother had passed away early and she has turned rebellious. Second,
she has to be taught proper etiquette to prepare herself for the 'Xiunu Selection Exercise' for the Qing imperial
harem.
(In Qing China, every three years, potential candidates, that is, young women between the ages of thirteen and sixteen were required to present
themselves at the Forbidden City for the selection of concubines or court ladies.)
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MEETING YIN’E AND YINTANG
Zhang Xiao still could not accept being
trapped in Qing China so she decides to return to the staircase where the
accident happened. She hopes to discover clues on how
she has been teleported to the Qing dynasty.
Qiaohui informs her that Gololo Mingyi had been present when Ma’ertai Rouxi fell.
Zhang Xiao is tempted to test whether
she could time-travel back to the 21st century by rolling down the
stairs once again.
Qiaohui instinctively feels that she might fall again and so, stands in her way. She helps Zhang Xiao to descend the stairs.
Zhang Xiao is homesick and wonders whether her
parents miss her. Do they see the same sky as her?
 Suddenly, the cheeky and playful 10th Prince and the serious 9th Prince appear. They tease her about her being young yet seems intelligent beyond her years. 
She considers Yin'e, the 10th Prince, to
be idiotic and oafish, and she recalls in her History lessons, that Yintang, the 9th Prince, has been described as venomous. The two princes take
their leave almost immediately because Yintang remembers that they
have to meet the Yinsi, the 8th Prince. Before Yin'e leaves, he horses around and pulls faces at her, and she bursts into laughter.
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DISCOVERING
BEIJING OF THE PAST
Zhang Xiao and Qiaohui have crept out of the house. The modern girl has a devil-may-care attitude and
roams freely and fearlessly all over the old section of the Beijing area. Unbounded by
restrictions but accompanied by the ever-anxious maid, she examines an iron and
other interesting parts of Chinese culture. She seems to have been too hot to
handle in the past but now, she
remains untamed.
They walk around Dashilan’er Street, which is known as Dazhalan
West Street in the twenty-first century, one of Beijing's oldest commercial streets.
It is actually the main Market Street and is concentrated with small vendors and ancient shop fronts and serves as the
main hub of commerce.
Dazhalan West Street
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ON COLLISION
COURSE: RUOXI-YINZHEN - NEAR FATAL HORSE ACCIDENT
Suddenly, some soldiers order everyone to move away to make way
for some important court officials who are there to welcome the emperor back to
the capital.
Zhang Xiao seems to have spotted a familiar face among the crowd. He has been
a witness at the scene of her fateful accident in the 21st
century. She rushes after him. She, in her haste and recklessness, unknowingly
crosses the path of the Fourth Prince, Yingzhen, startling his horse.
The horse rears and nearly bolts, but the Prince seems to be an expert and knows how to handle a spook. The horse jumps over her, avoiding a collision but the
Prince is exceedingly annoyed.
The maid quickly apologizes and informs him that they are from
the Eighth Prince’s household, so Yinzhen leaves without a word, disappearing
in a cloud of dust. He must have been thinking, 'Bloody dim-witted girl!'
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CONFLICT: A MATTER
OF EGO AND STATUS - ROUXI VERSUS GOLOLO MINGHUI
When they return home, Zhang Xiao is informed by another maid,
that the servant, her scrapegoat, is punished because he has let her out of
his sight. She is aghast by the injustice and protests to her sister but
instead, is ordered to greet the Eighth Prince’s first wife, Gololo Minghui,
who has come over to Ruolan’s residence for a routine visit.
The Di’fujin or eldest wife of Yinsi lashes out at her for
leaving the confines of the estate and for her insolence. She is admonished for her
lack of the finesse befitting a lady of the imperial family.
Gololo Minghui compares the two sisters – one is calm and is a loner
who preaches peace; the other is wild, unruly and impertinent. Ruoxi is in
stark contrast to her sister. She is unrestrained by her words. For the Chinese, ‘If the
eyes are the window to the soul, the lips are the mirrors of one's character
and temperament’, so Ruoxi is not an exemplary Qing lady, she scoffs.
Her imperial sister-in-law tells her in no uncertain terms that the Eighth Prince’s family have certain rules to be obeyed. She must play by the rules. When servants make mistakes, they have to be punished but the
master’s punishment is more severe if they make mistakes.
Minghui continues to hurl a tirade of abuses at Zhang Xiao. The young girl has no
sense of decorum and she would have to pay a heavy price for her
impertinence. There is no trace of gentleness in Minghui’s hardened eyes. Her
words are like a knife with serrated edges that is driven into Zhang Xiao's heart.
Ma'ertai Ruolan pleads for forgiveness on her sister’s behalf.
But Ruoxi is in fighting fit form. She tries to knock the lady off her lofty perch.
She reasons that she, the Di’fujin, for the simple reason that she is the
older wife and hence, the mistress of the estate, deserves more severe
punishment than anyone else as she could not control her household. Minghui,
in her rage, tries to slap and shove her.
The spunky girl fights the Di’fujin, whom viewers consider to be the typical evil woman in the 21st century TV dramas and movies. In the ensuing struggle, the villanous lady is caused to lose her balance and knock her head. Blood oozes out from her head and she
is quickly sent to see the imperial physician.
From the scene, the viewer can sense that Zhang Xiao is alternately
smart and birdbrained. She is able to reason well but at the same time, she is intolerant of the customs of the time. She is exasperated that her sister
allows herself to be bullied and reviled by the first wife. Zhang Xiao thinks
that her sister should stand up to Minghui's bullying ways.
However, Zhang Xiao’s modern ideas are too preposterous for the
conservative Qing dynasty. Being a strong-willed 21st century
woman, she is unused to the unjust meting out of punishment.
Ruolan faints from all the hassles of the day and has to be led
back to her residence. She advises Zhang Xiao not to worry about the servant,
the fall guy, as she has sent medicine to him.
With the departure of the Di’fujin, Zhang Xiao is relieved that
the stifling conversation and stultifying situation has ended.
The maid, Qiaohui, reveals that Gololo Minghui has always
disliked Ma'ertai Ruolan. Zhang Xiao believes that her sister is a trapped bird
in the Eighth Prince’s residential grounds.
To Zhang Xiao, Ruolan should not tolerate such abuse. She feels women should not
rely on men but instead should try to be independent and should take on the world.
Ruolan has a panic attack and is shocked at the words spilling
from Zhang Xiao’s mouth and demands to know if she has understood the implications of the recent incident in her life. The incident has exacerbated Ruolan’s fear that Ruoxi will ruffle more
feathers and so, she advises her clueless sister to stay within her boundaries, and if she does that,
she would not get into trouble.
Ruolan knows that her younger sibling is all grown up and more mature because she
can now understand and care for others, unlike before. But still, there is more growing up to do.
Zhang Xiao wants to tell Ruolan the truth about herself but she would be giving her sister the impression of a girl who has gone cuckoo or loco. What, even, if they think she’s psychic or is spot-on intuitive? She would only be perceived as being ‘evil’. If she shows them she can tell the future or predict an event before it happens, they will come to the conclusion that she is involved in black magic or sorcery.
In her bed, Zhang Xiao wonders whether she would have time-travelled back to the 21st century had she been hit by the horse and died earlier in the day.
The next morning, Zhang Xiao is even more determined to return to the twenty-first century. She
thinks about finding a map and then identifying the location of her accident
to return to the past. She has not accepted her impossible situation.
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MEETING ‘THE
VIRTUOUS PRINCE’: HER BROTHER-IN-LAW, YINSI
Ruolan instructs the other maids not to make a big fuss nor to
run helter-skelter over Yinsi, the 8th Prince’s impending visit to her
residence for dinner. She thinks it is not of any great importance.
Since it is Zhang Xiao’s first meeting with the 8th
Prince, Ruolan directs Qiaohui to
ensure that Zhang Xiao abides by the
rules and social etiquette, and be properly dressed up for the occasion.
First impression counts.
Zhang Xiao’s knowledge of history makes her excited over the
visit of ‘The Virtuous Prince’. The visit piques her curiosity and keeps it
acute.
Knowledge itself is power. Based on her 21st century
knowledge, she has precognition – the ability to foresee
events. She could take advantage of her situation to make herself more powerful
and change the course of history but she does not want to flaunt her knowledge.
While awaiting the arrival of the 'guest-of-honour', Zhang Xiao feels uncomfortably hot in her thick layers of clothing. It feels like she is being baked in an oven. She
pleads to go out. The heat is killing her and she fears her traditional
makeup is not waterproof.
In the garden, while wiping the beads of perspiration from her brow, she meets a handsome man who
offers her a handkerchief and tells her not to cry. He is wearing a light
blue silk two-slit ‘Chang Pao’ with a embroidered grey Mandarin collar.
Judging from his belted attire with 2 folk art knotted hanging string
decorations from his waist, it dawns
on her that he is the Eighth Prince. When he acknowledges her by name, she
awkwardly makes the customary bow with hands folded in front.
He looks splendid with his queue.
The 9th Prince
(Yintang) and 10th Prince
(Prince Yin’e) are waiting for him in the residence.
Pince Yinsi advises Ruolan to have nourishing food because she looks thinner. To Zhang Xiao, Prince Yinsi is elegant and kind, and treats her sister well.
Zhang Xiao is perplexed by his behaviour because history is
full of stories of his scheming nature. She is being teased by Yin'e, the 10th
Prince, during the meal.
That night, Zhang Xiao asks the maid about how Prince Yinsi
treats her sister. Qiaohui divulges that Prince Yinsi seldom comes and if he
does, he leaves early. The relationship between Ruolan and Prince Yinsi has
been cordial and polite for the past 5 years. Zhang Xiao’s feels her sister’s
situation is acceptable but the maid says others may not think in this way. His
other wife already has offsprings but Ruolan does not seem to care much about him.
Left alone with her thoughts, Zhang Xiao thinks about the
situation. She knows about the history of Prince Yinsi. She thinks Ruolan
would not be emotionally entangled in his strife for the throne if she does not love him. She also knows that he would suffer in his fight for the Dragon throne. It would work out for good that her sister does not have feelings for him.
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‘REINCARNATION’ – TIME-TRAVEL BACK TO THE 21ST
CENTURY’ - A WHOOPING GOOD IDEA: FATED TO MEET YINZHEN AGAIN
The next morning, Zhang Xiao sneaks out to the busy street
because she hopes to be knocked down, die and be reincarnated, and hopefully
time-travel back to the 21st century. What a whooping good idea!
She hears the sounds of galloping hoofs. Two riders come along.
She deliberately stands in their path and closes her eyes. They are Prince
Yinzhen, the Fourth Prince and Yinxiang, the Thirteenth Prince, a strong supporter of Yinzhen.
Yinxiang would later prove to be Ruoxi’s close confidant and soulmate.
Both princes, being skilled horsemen, are able to rein in their horses in
time but Zhang Xiao is thrown roughly to the ground. If they had not stopped in time, the
horses would have run right smack into her face, crushing her. It takes Zhang Xiao only a moment to come to her senses. Her irresponsible act could have
jeopardized her life and those of the innocent bystanders.
Yinxiang dismounts from his horse to help her but Prince
Yinzhen gazes down on her in a derisive, all-knowing manner, a wry smile on
his lips, his eyes mocking her since it is not the first time that she has
shown up in front of his charging horse. It is plainly an awkward situation
for Zhang Xiao.
“Why is it you again?” she asks contentiously. Being rude is not foreign to her. Yinzhen introduces her to Yinxiang. Zhang Xiao has sprained her leg and Yinzhen is seen going into a
medical shop. Later, it is revealed that he has bought a bottle of medicine for her. Does this incident show Yinzhen's interest in her, or the humane side of his character?
Yinxiang tells her right to her face that she does not look like a typical member of Prince Yinsi’s household as none of them would abandon their sense of
propriety nor breach decorum.
And since they are visiting the 8th Prince, they would escort her home. Zhang Xiao could
imagine her sister’s worried face if she sees her younger sister on a horse with the princes, so, Zhang Xiao makes them promise not to divulge her reckless behaviour to her.
When they arrive at the residence, she hobbles towards her
horrified sister, her limp having caught the attention of her sister. She
tells a barefaced lie to her sister which brought on the smirks of the princes.
Yinzhen requests to talk to her privately. When they are out of the earshot of the others, he demands to know
why she wants to die. It is the second time that she has stood in the path of his galloping horse.
She says he is mistaken and lies that it is just a coincidence. He
is sceptical and raises doubt about her real intentions.
Yinzhen tells her point-blank that the first time was a coincidence but not the second time. The viewers must be thinking that if there is one person he wants to strangle at that moment, it has to be her. 
Cornered, she mumbles that there are too many things that make it hard for her to let go. She insists indignantly that she is not seeking death but
reincarnation. She is looking for life. Zhang Xiao could not help but
notice his skeptical eyes that seem to pierce into her.
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